Paper-feeding machine.



F. L. GROSS. PAPER FEEDING MACHINE. APPLIOATIQN mmm Ammo. 190e.

Patented Jan. 24, 1911.

"entran sfrafrns caritas l .FRATK L. CROSS, OF WOLLASTON, IYIASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROSS PAPER FEEDER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF IVIAINE.

PAPERf-FEEDING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. FRANK L. Cnoss, a citizen ot the United States, residm r at llrollaston, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Iieeding Machines; and l do here by declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates' to that class of paper feeding machinesl in which a bank of feathered or fanned out sheets presented to devices which separate individual sheets from the front of the bank so that they may be removed and presented to machines or devices for further manipulating or acting o n them.

In order that the separating devices may operate properly upon the front of the bank of sheets in this class of machines, and may properly separate the individual sheets, the bank of sheets should be so fed to the separating devices that the front edge of the bank will be maintained at a substantially uniform point. So long as the front edge of the bank of sheets is at this point or 1n advance of it, there should be no feed of the bank, but as soon as the removal of successive sheets from the front of the bank carries the front edge of the bank back of this point, there should be a feed of the bank, and the feed should continue until the front edge of the bank is brought up to the proper point.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for feeding' the bank of feathered sheets which will automati:all \v act to maintain the front edge of the bank at a substantially uniform point during the separation and removal of the individual sheets from the front of the bank.

One feature of the invention contemplates 'the provision of a mechanism for feeding forward a bank of feathered or fanned ont sheets which will act to feed forward the bank whenever the front edge of the bank is back of a predetermined point, but will remain inactive so long as the front edge of th bank is at or in advance of said point. The bank feedingr mechanism is preferably controlled to act in this manner by controling means coperating with the front edge Specification of Letters Patent. Pglgntgd Jau, 24. j g1 i, Appncancn fue@ April 3o, 190s.

Serial No. 430,1 11.

of the bank to render the bank feeding mechanism active when the front. edge of the bank is back of a predetermined point.

In addition to the broader features. the invention includes certain further features which may be embodied with especial. advantage in machines in which the separation of individual sheets from the front of the bank is elliccted by combing devices which act to further fan or feather out the top sheets, and which are thrown out of operation when the front edge of the top .sheethas been advanced into a definite position. ln machines embodying this forni ot' sheet separatingdevices. the distance between the front edge ot the bank and the devices which control the throwing out of the combing devices when the front edge of the sheet has been advanced into proper position,

^ should be adjusted or varied in accordance with the character of the sheets being operated upon. In operating upon comparatively thin sheets, for instance, the front edge of the bank of sheets should be maintained at a comparatively long distance back of the line to which the front edge of the sheet is advanced by the action oi' the combingT devices. n operating upon heavy sheets. however. the front edge of the bank should be maintained at .i shorter di. back of this line, in order that the top may be properly separated and advan l this line durinff the combing; interval. in embodying the invention in machines in which the sheets are separated b v combing devices, therefore, means should be p for re-:lativelji` adjusting the con i means for the combing' devices. and for the feed ot' the bank of sheets. to var;Y the dis tance between thel front edge of' the bank and the line to which ila front ed i of the sheet is advanced by the combine evices, in accordance with the charact' t the sheets to be operated upon. rthis 'u rent may be secured in any suitable n n and is preferably secured by adjust. .le Inc-"lianism for feeding the bank of i to vary the point at which the front cree of the. bank is maintained, in accordancwith the character of the sheets beingr oper;V c-. upon.

The various features of the invention will be understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawing, in which the. preferred form of the invention is shown embodied in a sheet feeding machine in which the indivitlual sheets are separated from the front. of the bank of sheets by combing rolls operated and controlled by mechanism similar to the mechanism shown and described in Patent No. 812,250, dated February 13, H16.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section showing a sheet feeding machine embodying the invention in its preferred form, and Fig'. 2 is a detail plan view showing a partA of the bank feeding mechanisni.

s shown in the drawing, the bank of feathered sheets is supported upon a feed table. 1 in position to be acted upon by combing rolls, one of which is indicated at 2. The, bank of sheets is fed to the feed table 1 from a supply table 3, the front end of which is arranged over the rear end of the feed table. The. bank of sheets passes fron.` the supply table to the feed table through a curved throat formed between the drum 1 and the curved guides Pressure rolls (i are located above the drum 1 and act to press the bank of sheets against the drum and thus insure the proper feeding of the bank through the curved throat. The bank upon the supply table rests upon endless `bands T which extend along the upper face of the table and around the drum 4. The bank upon the feed table 1 rests upon feed tapes S which pass over the upper surface of the table and around pulleys 9 and 10. The feed tapes 'T and S, the drum 4, and pressure rolls t5, are operated in unison to advance or feed forward the bank of feathered sheets at proper intervals through gearing connecting the pulley 10. drum 4, and rolls 6 with a sprocket wheel '11.

The front of the bank of sheets upon the feed table 1 is acted upon by two combing rolls Q, one only of which is shown. These rolls are located on each side of the feed table, and are independently controlled b v devices which are fully illustrated in the patent above referred to, so that. the combing roll at each side acts until the edge of the sheet, at that side has been advanced into proper position to be seized and removed, and is then thrown out of action. The top sheet is advanced by the combing rolls until the fronty edge of the sheet acts upon the coutrolling trips 1:2, when the combing action ceases. The trips 1:? are so located that the front edge of the sheet is thus brought between the forwarding or delivery rolls 13 and 14. The roll 1-2 iis-lowered immediately after the combing rolls are thrown out of act-ion, and the top sheet, which has been separated by the combing rolls` is carried away by the delivery rolls 1S and 14. After the top sheet has been thus removed, and the rear edge. of the sheet has passed the rolls 13 and 14, the roll 14 is raised, and the combing rolls are again thrown into action to comb forward the top sheets and bring outer end of a sleeve 18.

the top sheety into position to be acted upon by the delivery rolls.

1n order that thc sheets may be properly separated by the combing rolls, and indi` vidual sheets presented tothe delivery rolls, the front edge of the bank of sheets should lie such a distance back of the trips 12 that the combing device will etl'ect the proper separationmf the sheets in advancing tl e vtop sheet into position to beseized by the delivery rolls, since otherwise the second sheet might-l be advanced sutiiciently to be seized by the rolls. At the same time, the distance of the front edge of the bank back of the trips 12 should not be so great that- ,tbe combing devices will not advance the top sheetsuficiently to bring it into position to be seized by the delivery rolls, since otherwise the sheet will not be taken away by the delivery rolls. The front edge of the bank should therefore be maintained at a substantially fixed distance back of the trips, and this distance will depend upon the separation effected by the combing devices duringA the time that they are in action.

In order to maintain the front edge of the bank at a. substantially fixed point during the separation of the sheets from the front end of the bank, means are provided for controlling the feeding of the bank from its front edge. In the construction shown, the sprocket wheel 11 is actuated toetfectthe advance or feeding movements of the bank of sheets through a chain 15 passing around Y the sprocket wheel, around idle wheels 16, and over a sprocket wheel 17 secured to the. The sleeve 18 is mounted on a shaft 10 which extends transversely above the front end of the feed table. The ratchet wheel 20 is secured to the sleeve 1S, and is arranged to be engaged by a pawl :21 mounted upon a pawl carrying leverv. The lower end of the pawl carrying lever 22 is provided with a roll arranged to be 0perated upon by a cam 23 whichis secured to the. continuously rotating cani shaft Q4. The pawl carrying lever is held in' engagement with thc cam Q3 by a spring 'z2/1t', and when the, pawl engages the. ratchet. wheel 20 the cani 2? acts through the. mechanism described to impart a feeding movement to the devices which engage and move forward the bank of sheets. The operation of the bank feeding mechanism is controlled by control-v ling the engagement of the pawl 21 with the ratchet Qt). For this purpose the pawl 21 is connected by means of a link 25 with one ariu oi a bell crank lever QG, which is pivotedon the p'aivl carrying lever Q2. lhe other arm of the bell crank lever QG carries a controlling finger 2T which isarranged to ride over the freut of luibank of sheets as the pawl carrying lever Edeis reciprocated by the cani Q3. Th" can 23 is. so shaped that the lower end of the pawl carrying lever 22 is advanced to give the pawl 21 its active or feeding movement during the interval after the rear end of the sheet has )assed the deliverv rolls 13 and 14, and be lore the comb- -ing rolls are again thrown into action. lf

-rcmoval of the top sheet, the front edge-of the bank of sheets is so far back of the trips 12 that the controlling linger Q7 will not ride. on the top' of the bank, or will ride olf of the front edge of the bank during the. forward movement of the pawl carrying lever. then the pawl Q1 will notrbe supported, but will drop into engagement with the ratchet teeth on the ratchet wheel Q0, and a forward feeding movement will be imparted' to the ratchet wheel, and through the connected mechanism to the bank of sheets. The eX- ient of' this feeding movement will depend upon the position of the front edge of the bank. lf the front edge of the bank is so far forward that the controlling linger 2T rides on the top of the bank during the greater portion of this forward moven'ient, the. pa wl '21 will not engage the ratchet wheel until it has nearly completed its advance movement, and there will be a compars tivel)7 small feeding movement of the bank. If the controlling linger 2 does not ride on the top of the bank during any of its forward movement, then the pawl 21 will ,act upon the ratchet wheel during its entire feeding movement, and the maximum feeding movement will be im'parted to the bank. lf`eeding movements will continue to he imparted to the bank after the removal of each sheetfrom the front of the bank, so long as the front edge of the bank after the removal of they top sheet is in position to allow the feeding pawl 1o operate. The feeding of the bank will cease as soon as the front edge of the bank is brought into position to support the controlling finger 2T during the entire feeding movement of the feeding pawl, and there will 'be no further feeding of the bank so long as the front edge of thebank continuesl in such position.

The controlling linger '2T adjustabl)7 secured upon the bell crank lever 26 so that its path of travel over the feed board majv be varied or adjusted to var)Y the point where the finger will ride off the front edge of the bank and canse a feeding moJement of the bank. This adjusunent enables the distance between the front edge of thebank and the trips 12 to be varied in accordance with the character ofthe sheets to be operated upon, and in accordance with the separation produced by the combing wheels in a given period.

Having set forth the nature and object of the invention, and specifically described one form of apparatus in which it maT be embodied, what l claim is 1. machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination. a sheet separatingr device arranged to act upon the top of a bank of sheets, mechanism for feeding a feathered bank of sheets to the separating device, and Ymeans controlled by the front edge of the bank for throwing the feeding mechanism into action, substantially as described.

2. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in ccmibination, a sheet separating device arranged to act upon the top of a feathered bank 'of sheets, and mechanism acting to feed forward a bank of feathered sheets when the front edge of the bank is back of a predetermined point, substantially as described.

3. A m chim` for feeding sheets, having, in combination. a combing device, means for controlling the combing device by the sheet, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets'to the combing device, and means for controlling the bank feeding mcchanisn'i to advance the bank when the front edge of the bank is back of a predetermined point, substantiall;7 as described.

4. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, a combing device, means for controlling the combing device Vby the sheet, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets to the combing device, means for controlling the bank feeding mechanism to advance the bank when the front edge of the bank is bacl; of a predetermined point, and means for relativeljvY adjusting the controlling means for thc combing device and the bank feeding mechanism, substantiallyr as described.

5. A machine for feeding sheets, having,

Y in combination, a combing device, means for controlling the combing,r device by the sheet, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets to the combing device. and means for controlling said feeding mechanism from the front edge 'of the bank adjustable to vary the point at which the front edge of the bank is maintained by the feeding mechanism, substantially as described.

6. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, an intermittently acting sheet combing device, means for presenting a bank of feathered sheets to the combing device. and mechanism controlled by the front edge of the bank for feeding forward the bank between successive operations of the combing device upon the bank, substantially as described.

A machine for feeding sheets, having. in combination. mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets, means acting upm the top of the bank for separating individual sheets therefrom, and means controlled from the front edge of the bank for throwing the feeding mechanism into action, snb stantially as described.

8. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, a combing roll, mechanism for throwing the roll into action, mechanism controlled by the sheet for throwing the. roll out of action, and mechanism controlled by the 'front edge of the bank after the top sheet a ivanced by the combing roll has been removed for feeding a bank of sheets to the combing roll, substantially as described.

9. .A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, a sheet separating device arranged to lact upon the to of a bank of sheets, mechanism for fee ing a bank of feathered sheets to the separating device, and a device coperatin with the front edge of the bank to control t e throwing 'into ac.- tion of the bank feeding mechanism, substantially as described. Y

10. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, a sheet separating device, a device for controlling the operation of the vseparating device bv the sheet, mechanism for feeding a bank (if feathered sheets to the separating device, and a controlling device operated when in engagement with the front of the bank to render the bank feeding mechanism inactive, substantially as described. f

11. A machine for feeding sheets, havinv, in combination, a combing roll, mechanism for feeding forward a bank of feathered sheets. and means controlled by the front edge of the bankv for maintaining said front edge at a substantially uniforn', point, substantially as described.

12. A machinefor feeding sheets, having. in combinatiom'sheet combing means, mechanism for feeding forward a bank of feathered sheets, means for controlling said mechanism to maintain the front edge ci the bank at a substantiall)T uniform point` and means for adjnsting'said point, subsantially as described.

13. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, sheet combing means, mech- :mism foi feeding forward a bank of feathered sheets, means coperating with the front edge of the bank to render the bank feeding mechanism inactive nntil the front edge of the bank back of a predetermined point and to then canse said feeding mechanism to advance the bank, .substantially as described.

- 14'. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination. a combing roll. mechanism for throwing the roll into action, mechanism controlled by the sheet for throwing -fhe roll out of action, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets to the roll, a controller arrangedI to travel over the front of the bank, and connections, for causing a feeding of the bank when the controller is unsupported b v the bank, substantialiT as' described.

15. A machine for feeding sheets, having,

out of action. mechanism for feeding a bank' of feathered sheets, and a controller arranged at the. front of the bank and connected toprcvcnt the action of thc feeding mechanism when cngagcdby the bank, and to allow the action of the feeding mecha, nisin when free from the frontedge of the bank, substantiallyY as described.

17. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, a combing roll, mechanism for throwing the roll into action,mechanism controlled by the sheet' for throwing thc roll out of action, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets to the roll including an actuating pawl and ratchet, a controller linger adapted to render the pawl and ratchet. inactive while in engagement with the bank.l and means acting to move the controller finger along the front of the bank in the direction of feed, substantially as described.

18. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combination, a combing roll, mechanism for throwing thc roll into action, mechanism controlled b v the sheet for throwing the roll out of action, mechanism for feeding forward a bank of feathered sheets. means cooperating with the front edge of he bank to render the bank feeolng mechanism inactive until the front edge of the bank is hack of a predetermined point and to then cause said feeding mechan Ln to advance the bank, substantiall)7 as described.

19. A machine for feeding sheets,v having, in combination, a combing roll, mechanism controlled by the sheet for throwing the roll out of action, mechanism for feeding forward a bank of feathered sheets, and means controlled by the front edge of the bank for maintaining said front. edge at a substair tiallj; uniform point, snbst-antialiy described. I Y

20. A machine forv feeding sheets, having, in combination, a combing roll, a'sheetoperated controlling trip for throwing the combing roll out of action, mechanism for feeding a bank. of feathered sheets to the combing roll, a devicefor arresting the feeding action of said mechanlsi and a ControHei connected to render said arresting device active when engaged by the bank and to render said device inactive when free from the bank, substantially as described.

2i. A machine for feeding sheets, having, in combinationy sheet;` separating means, a.. controler for controlling Vthe separating l means by the sheet, mechanism for feeding u bank offenthered sheets to the separating i device opefated by said controller finger for preventing the feeding action of the bank by the feeding xnechaixsm when the controller finger is in engagement with the bunk, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aix my Signat-life, in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK L. CROSS. XYtnesses z ANNIE C. RICHARDSON, H. D. MQPHAIL.

n'ienns, :L controHer finger arranged to extend across the front edge of the bank, and a stop 

